Key takeaways:
The common cold can cause fever, dehydration, stress, and inflammation. All of these can increase your heart rate.
Some over-the-counter cold medications can also increase your heart rate and make the problem worse.
You should seek medical care if your heart rate stays over 100 beats per minute, or if you have chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, or fainting.
The common cold affects millions of people every year. Most of the time it’s just a nuisance, but it can also be a miserable experience. You may have noticed that when you catch a cold, your heart seems to beat faster than usual. It's not just your imagination; there's a scientific reason behind it. For most people, this is natural and isn’t harmful. But it can also be a sign that something else is going on in the body. And, for some people — especially people with heart disease — this can become a problem. So, it helps to know what to do if your heart rate doesn’t settle down.
Why does a cold increase your heart rate?
When you catch a cold, your body has to work harder to fight off the virus. This extra effort can raise your heart rate. This happens for a few reasons:
Fever: When your body temperature goes up, your heart rate can also increase as your body fights the virus. One study found that for every 1.8°F rise in temperature, the heart rate increased by over eight beats per minute.
Dehydration: When you're sick, you might not feel like eating or drinking much. This can lead to dehydration. Dehydration can make your heart work harder to keep your body functioning normally.
Stress: Being sick can be stressful, and stress can also make your heart beat faster. Your body releases stress hormones, like adrenaline, which can speed up your heart rate.
Medications: Sometimes the over-the-counter (OTC) medications you take to treat a cold can cause your heart rate to rise. (We’ll talk about this more a couple of sections down.)
What is a normal heart rate?
Your heart beats (pumps) at a certain rate — your heart rate. Another word for heart rate is pulse. No one’s heart rate ever stays exactly the same. Your heart speeds up and slows down depending on what else is going on in your body.
Usually when healthcare providers talk about your heart rate, they mean your resting heart rate. That’s how fast your heart beats when your body is at rest, sitting quietly and relaxing. Most people have a resting heart rate between 60 to 100 beats per minute. But athletes’ heart rates may naturally be a little lower.
What happens if you have heart problems and get a cold or flu?
There’s a big difference between a cold versus the flu. Both affect your respiratory system, but colds are usually milder. Colds can be caused by many different viruses. The flu is caused by a type of virus known as influenza.
For most people with heart disease, a common cold won’t cause any serious complications. But certain types of cold viruses can trigger heart rhythm problems. These can sometimes be serious. But it’s very uncommon to die from issues caused by a cold.
The flu is another story. It tends to cause much more severe symptoms than the common cold. Each year in the U.S., the flu accounts for hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and up to about 50,000 people will die of health issues caused by the flu.
If you have a heart condition, getting the flu puts you at greater risk for problems, like heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and heart arrhythmias. This is why it’s important for anyone with heart disease to check in with their healthcare team if they think they have the flu. Getting a flu shot will lower your risk of these problems.
Tylenol and blood pressure: When you have a cold, Tylenol can help with fever and body aches. But it also might raise your blood pressure.
Cold medicines and heart conditions: Our experts go through the best and worst choices for cold medicines if you have a heart condition.
Is your heart rate over 100 beats per minute? We explain what can raise your heart rate, and when to get help.
What else can cause an elevated heart rate when sick?
Many other things can cause tachycardia (elevated heart rate). These may include:
Stress and anxiety
Physical exercise
Caffeine and other stimulants
Some asthma medications
Hyperthyroidism
Excessive amounts of thyroid medication
Low oxygen levels
Anemia
Smoking
Abnormal heart rhythms, like atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, and supraventricular tachycardia
When should you get medical care for an elevated heart rate?
If you have a cold, it’s normal for your heart to run a little faster than normal. Hydration and rest will usually help calm it down. But, if your heart rate is staying above 100 beats per minute, even when you're resting, that’s a good reason to get it checked out.
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It’s especially important to seek care if your fast heart rate is accompanied by other symptoms, such as:
Chest pain
Dizziness
Fainting
Shortness of breath
If your symptoms feel severe, get to your nearest emergency room. That way the problem can be taken care of quickly.
Frequently asked questions
It’s easy to assume that over-the-counter (OTC) medications are safe. But that’s not always the case.
There are some common medications that can affect your heart. These include:
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve)
Decongestants, like phenylephrine (Sudafed PE) and pseudoephedrine (Sudafed)
Dextromethorphan (Delsym), which is often used for coughs
These medications may raise your heart rate. In the worst cases, they can cause heart rhythm abnormalities, like atrial fibrillation. And NSAIDs can interact with some heart medications. If you have a heart condition, it’s a good idea to check with your healthcare team before taking a cold medication.
Yes, illnesses, like a cold, can raise your blood pressure. This happens for a lot of the same reasons that a cold can increase your heart rate. The fever, discomfort, and stress that comes with illness can all lead to increased blood pressure. Even dehydration — which is often associated with a lower blood pressure — can also raise your blood pressure. This is because dehydration can lead to the release of hormones, which tells the body to increase its blood pressure.
It’s easy to assume that over-the-counter (OTC) medications are safe. But that’s not always the case.
There are some common medications that can affect your heart. These include:
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve)
Decongestants, like phenylephrine (Sudafed PE) and pseudoephedrine (Sudafed)
Dextromethorphan (Delsym), which is often used for coughs
These medications may raise your heart rate. In the worst cases, they can cause heart rhythm abnormalities, like atrial fibrillation. And NSAIDs can interact with some heart medications. If you have a heart condition, it’s a good idea to check with your healthcare team before taking a cold medication.
Yes, illnesses, like a cold, can raise your blood pressure. This happens for a lot of the same reasons that a cold can increase your heart rate. The fever, discomfort, and stress that comes with illness can all lead to increased blood pressure. Even dehydration — which is often associated with a lower blood pressure — can also raise your blood pressure. This is because dehydration can lead to the release of hormones, which tells the body to increase its blood pressure.
The bottom line
The common cold can make your heart beat faster. That can be due to a combination of factors, including fever, dehydration, inflammation, and stress. Though this might be uncomfortable, it's your body's way of trying to get you back to feeling healthy again. But, if your heart rate stays above 100 beats per minute or if you have any symptoms that worry you, it's best to go to the nearest emergency room. If your symptoms are milder, but still bothersome, contact your healthcare provider. They can check out your heart and make sure you’re OK.
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References
American Heart Association. (2024). Target heart rates chart.
American Heart Association News. (2019). Taking medicine for a cold? Be mindful of your heart.
American Lung Association. (2024). Facts about the common cold.
Behrouzi, B., et al. (2022). Association of influenza vaccination with cardiovascular risk: A meta-analysis. Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Age-adjusted rates for cold-related deaths, by U.S. census region and metropolitan status of place of occurrence — United States, 2010–2013. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Cold versus flu.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Facts about estimated flu burden.
Journey, J. D., et al. (2023). Dextromethorphan toxicity. StatPearls.
Karjalainen, J., et al. (1986). Fever and cardiac rhythm. Internal Medicine.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2020). Researchers uncover how common cold virus triggers heart problems.
